The Developer recognition engine has “targeted” solutions for recognizing context in browser-based applications. These solutions are built specifically for each application that has a targeted solution. The Recorder currently automatically detects whether the application being recorded is a targeted solution. If a targeted application does not exist, the recognition engine associates a generic SmartMatch context with the page.
If you have many target applications enabled (all target applications are enabled by default) the time needed to determine that a recorded page does not belong to any one of them can be long and can slow down recording. You can alleviate this issue by disabling target applications that you do not use.
Disabling a targeted application does not mean turning it off completely. There is a fast version of the application detection script that cannot recognize all pages in the targeted application, but still works with reasonable accuracy, and much faster than the full script. The fast script is still run for disabled applications.
The Recorder displays a context icon that identifies the type of the context (ExactMatch, SmartMatch, or NoMatch) being recorded.
ExactMatch Recognition
When you start recording in a targeted application, the recognition triggered by the first event may experience some delay, depending upon the position of the application in the enabled applications’ list. Since the rest of the recording session is likely to take place in the same application, the Developer moves it to the top of the enabled list. This way, the recognition of subsequent pages in the same application is faster.
At the end of the recording session, the Recorder saves a list of the most recently recorded targeted applications. Before the next session starts, the recorder restores the applications order from this list. If you record in the same targeted application, the initial delay is eliminated.
The Developer collects usage data on targeted applications. The number of times a context in a targeted application is recorded is accumulated and stored. The Developer also stores the date/time of the last usage. This helps to determine what targeted applications the author recorded against recently. Usage data is stored on the Windows user level on each workstation and is not exported or imported with content defaults.
SmartMatch Recognition
In non-targeted browser applications, SmartMatch recognition is in effect. To avoid delays, you are able to configure the targeted applications you also record against. For the applications you exclude, the Developer uses the fast scripts.
This Configuration page lists all targeted applications and indicates the frequency of usage in the Use column. For example, frequently used applications are those that launched within the last 30 days. Rarely-used applications are those launched longer than 30 days ago. Applications with a value of Never are those that have never been launched. You can turn applications off and on in this dialog box by clicking the appropriate options next to the target application (or use the Select All/Clear All buttons).
Both ExactMatch and SmartMatch: Displays a list of applications to enable or disable.
SmartMatch Only: Enables SmartMatch for all applications.
ExactMatch Target Applications: All applications are referenced by their user-friendly names; however, you can provide your own text for each application in the Description column. These descriptions are exported and imported with content defaults.
The Recorder detects when recognition is getting slow and provides you with visual feedback. For example, the Recorder provides a hint as to why recording is slow. You can then activate this dialog box from the Recorder and disable/enable target applications as needed.
If the Recorder recognizes a disabled application, a warning message appears to provide visual feedback that you should enable it for improved recording.
The enabled/disabled state of the applications are exported and imported together with content defaults. This way, administrators can set up a default environment.
If a new release or service pack adds a new targeted application, it appears in the list as enabled.